CHAPTER IV

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RELATING TO NUNU AND KAKOHE.

These were old men who had served under Liloa as priests and were great favorites of his. After the death of Liloa they again served under Hakau, his son, when he became the king of Hawaii. But shortly after Hakau assumed the reins of power the old men fell sick and they took some cathartic medicine. After the effects of the medicine had disappeared and a longing for food came upon them, they sent a servant to go to Hakau and get some food, meat and awa. Upon the arrival of the messenger in the presence of Hakau, Hakau asked the man: “What are you after?” He replied: “I have been sent by the old men to come to you, the king, and ask you for some food, meat and awa for them, for they have been taking some medicine and are now craving for some food.” When Hakau heard the words of the messenger, he said: “Go back and tell them that there is no food, no meat and no awa.”

In the days of Liloa, Nunu and Kakohe were great favorites, for they were the custodians of the great god Kaili, and whatever they wanted was always granted them by Liloa. The influence of these two old men was so great that even Liloa could in no way enter into any conflict without their consent and advice; and Liloa was constrained from doing anything without their knowledge. These old men were consequently Liloa’s favorites, and after the death of Liloa they continued exercising the same influence over Hakau.

When the messenger returned to the presence of the old men he told them all the words told him by Hakau. When they heard the report they were greatly distressed and became very sore at heart, and in time, as the refusal of Hakau to give them their small needs became more apparent, they got very angry toward Hakau. Because of this ill-treatment the old men began to conspire within themselves to give away the possession of the kingdom to Umi. Nunu said to Kakohe: “Let us go and see how fares Kaoleioku with his ward, whether good or bad.” [151] This was agreed on by the two old men and in due time they set out from Waipio, climbed the cliff and arrived in Kukuihaele. From there they continued on to Kapulena where they spent the night. On the next day they continued on their way until they arrived at Honokaa, then on to Paauhau where they rested. From this last place they continued on to Kalopa, then on to Kaumoalii, and on to Kemau where they spent that night.

While they were resting at Kemau, a man who saw and recognized them on the way arrived ahead of them at Kaoleioku’s home at Laupahoehoe, Hilo, and said to Kaoleioku: “The old men Nunu and Kakohe are on their way coming to pay you a visit.” Kaoleioku then asked of the man: “When will they arrive in Hilo?” “They will arrive on the day after tomorrow.” “What is their great object in coming to make this visit?” The man replied: “I believe they are coming to look at your ward, to see whether his behavior is good or bad, for their ward, Hakau, has been treating them very badly of late.”

When Kaoleioku and Umi heard this, Kaoleioku was made very happy, and he began to speak in glowing terms to the large number of people present of the good promise of his ward Umi coming into possession of the kingdom, for Kaoleioku was a great prophet, and versed in the art of foretelling the future of a person by looking at the carriage and manners. It was because Kaoleioku had seen a great future ahead that induced him to take Umi to his home when he first met him, and bring him up as his own son.

Kaoleioku then began to lay plans how Umi’s interest could be advanced more advantageously, and saw that in the reception to be accorded to the old men laid his greatest chance, for he was well aware that Nunu and Kakohe were great priests, and if he could once get their support, the future of Umi would be assured.

On the fifth day of the old men’s journey, Kaoleioku began his preparations for their reception by cooking and preparing food, fish, pork, chickens and awa. [152] Kaoleioku also ordered one of his men to go and prepare some firewood. In size it was about two fathoms in girth and three yards long. After this ohia log was procured, Kaoleioku ordered it split up into small pieces, of the proper size, and then to have the pieces bundled up and tied together and restore the log to its former shape. Kaoleioku then directed a couple of men to go to an awa bush that was growing near the doorway and dig all around it. To another couple of men he gave orders that a pig be caught and tied securely with ropes.

These were some of the preparations made by Kaoleioku so as to enable Umi to easily perform certain acts in the presence of the old men upon their arrival. By this we see how keen Kaoleioku was in furthering the interests of Umi.

The object of these preparations made by Kaoleioku was this: When the two old men were to arrive, Umi, according to the ancient custom, must start an umu for the baking of a pig; he was then to take up the log of wood and break it into pieces, and it being already cut up it would therefore take Umi but a short time to get the wood ready, and the quickness and dispatch of the work in the breaking up of the wood, the catching of the pig and the uprooting of the awa bush would lead the old men to believe that Umi must be possessed of unusual strength.

After these different preparations had been accomplished, Kaoleioku then turned to Umi and said: “My chief, tomorrow shall be the day when you will gain control of the kingdom, and by your actions on that day alone is the thing to be done. My chief, I request of you that you give ear and keep these my instructions, for your future rests in your obedience. Tomorrow you will have the chance of your life, and if you fail to take heed to my instructions, my bones will not be saved by you, for then they will be dried out in the sun.” [153]

At the conclusion of these words of Kaoleioku, Umi’s face beamed, showing his determination to carry out every word of the instructions. He then gave his assent and promised to obey the orders and to carry out his part of the arrangement.

After a while Kaoleioku again addressed Umi, saying: “We will now retire, and at the period of time just after midnight I will then go up to our fields with all our men, leaving no one behind with you except your wives. If two old men should arrive tomorrow morning and they should ask for me, then remember they are the ones we are expecting. You must then make their reception complete in all things.”

After this last advice they retired for the night. After midnight was passed Kaoleioku and his people all went up to the fields, while Umi and his wives continued sleeping on until daylight.

After the sun was up and it had become quite warm, that being about eight o’clock, the old men, Nunu and Kakohe, arrived. When they drew near to the houses of Kaoleioku, they looked around and noticed the quietness of the place, which looked to them as though it was deserted. The old men then called out: “The houses of Kaoleioku are completely deserted; no one seems to be around.”

While the two were calling, Umi heard them, and so he answered the old men by saying: “Come in. We have no one at home except myself; all the people and Kaoleioku have gone up to the mountains to work in the fields; I was made to stay at home to receive you two upon your arrival.” At the call of Umi the two entered the house. When Umi saw that the two had entered, he went out, took up the log of wood, lifted it over his head and threw it down onto the ground breaking it into small pieces. Umi then followed this by lighting the umu, [154] and on account of the liberal supply of kindling wood and leaves a great volume of smoke arose, making it impossible for the old men to properly see how the wood and the umu were prepared. Umi then grabbed the pig and, after letting it squeal for a while, let it go, not killing it. The pig was released and allowed to get away on the side where the smoke was thickest. After the kindling wood had burnt up he covered the umu with grass only. After this was done Umi went to the awa bush and pulled it up whole.

When Nunu and Kakohe saw the acts performed by Umi, they said one to the other: “If the ward of Kaoleioku is anything like this fellow, what a blessing! our bones would indeed be saved. What a powerful man this is!” The reasons for the comment on the great strength of Umi were because of the breaking up of the ohia log of wood at one throw, the quickness in the covering up of the umu of pig, and the uprooting of the awa bush.

After Umi had pulled up the awa bush, he went to one side of the house where the old men were in, and cut up the awa into small pieces; then he proceeded to the place where the awa container was kept and brought it and placed it by his side; he then took some of the awa that was already prepared and put it into the cup. Umi then went over to the umu and uncovered an umu that was alongside of the one he had just covered, which contained a pig well cooked, which he took out and brought to the eating place, where the old men were already seated. The pig was well done. When Umi was uncovering the umu, Nunu said to Kakohe: “How quickly the pig has been cooked; the umu was only covered but a short time ago!”

After the pig was served, Umi brought the awa and poured it into two cups, in the presence of the two, and then handed the cups to the old men, who then took the awa and drank it down. After this they partook of the pig. Shortly after finishing their meal the effects of the awa began to come over them and they both laid down where they sat, completely overcome. In falling over, one fell near the sleeping place, while the other fell against the side of the house. Umi then picked up the one that was lying against the side of the house and took him to the sleeping place; then he pulled the other one over so that he, too, laid on the sleeping place.

While they slept Umi went on up to meet Kaoleioku in the fields, on the mountain side, where all the men were engaged in cultivating food. When Umi arrived, Kaoleioku said to him: “Have the old men arrived?” Umi replied: “Yes, they have arrived, and I have carried out your orders and have prepared everything for their comfort. They are both overcome with awa, and when I left they were sound asleep.” When Kaoleioku heard this report from Umi he said to him: “Let us remain with your men, and in the afternoon we will return. The order of our return shall be as follows: I will go on down ahead, the men will then come after me, while you come on behind the procession.” This was agreeable to Umi. The reason why Kaoleioku arranged the procession in this order was to allow him a chance to meet the old men first and thus give him time to answer any questions that they may put to him relating to Umi, for he wished to make a very favorable report of his ward, and also to keep the old men from making a mistake in their choice of which was Umi, whereas he, Kaoleioku, was well acquainted with them.

After Umi had gone up, and after the old men had slept off the effects of the awa, they got up and said to themselves: “This is not the way our lord has been treating us; even during the time of Liloa we never received such treatment. Then when Hakau came to the kingdom all we received was just our food and fish and kapa. Even our house is nothing but a filthy place, but here everything is so fresh and good that it is a blessing to live. This is the best treatment we have ever had. From our youth up we have ever been lowly, and here in our old age we begin to have a taste of real comfort; a good present indeed. In the days of our youth we never had a taste of it.”

As the sun was slanting, it being about two o’clock, the first of the procession arrived from the uplands. The old men looked and saw that Kaoleioku was in the lead. They then saw a large number of people following along after him. The procession was so long that they were unable to see the rear. As the fore part of the procession came nearer they easily recognized Kaoleioku. Kaoleioku then greeted the old men and they wept, [155] for they had not seen each other for a long time.

In the arrangement of the procession Kaoleioku had divided the people into four divisions: first came the tallest of the men, then came the next in height, then came the shortest of the men, and lastly came the children.

While Kaoleioku was sitting with the old men, Nunu asked: “Where is Umi? Is it that nice-looking man?” Kaoleioku answered: “No, that is not Umi; he is coming on behind.” The old men, however, kept on asking until the company of the tall men went by, then the next lot of men that came along, then on to the next in size, then to the children, when it became too dark to see the skin of one’s hand. Still Umi had not been pointed out to the old men.

As it was getting late and the last of the procession had not arrived, the old men therefore said to Kaoleioku: “Are we not going to see your ward before dark?” Kaoleioku then asked them: “Have you two not seen the man that stayed here when you arrived?” The two answered: “Do you mean the one that entertained us?” “Yes, that is the man,” answered Kaoleioku. The old men again asked: “The steward that received us and worked for us?” “Yes,” answered Kaoleioku, “I made him stay behind to work for you two.”

When the old men heard this from Kaoleioku they became very sad and for some time they bowed their heads down in shame, then they looked up and said to Kaoleioku: “Nothing will ever cover this shame.” Kaoleioku answered, saying: “Is he such a rich chief that I should make much of him? He is a poor chief, and the most he can do for you is to serve you two.” The old men then said: “We have no riches nor property to give him in return for his service; the only great property in our keeping is the whole of the island of Hawaii; let that be our present then to the chief Umi.” Kaoleioku replied: “How can it be possible for Umi to get the kingdom, for you two have seen for yourselves that the men are not of sufficient number to go to battle? In case of war Hakau will probably be victorious, for he has all the men at his command, and owns the whole of Hawaii.” The old men replied: “Hakau is already defeated; [156] he shall not live. On the day when the kapu for the gods is come, that will be the day when he shall die. He shall not escape. We will send the people to the mountain, leaving the king at home by himself, his steward and us two. That will be all who will remain.”

At the close of the remarks made by Nunu and Kakohe, Kaoleioku felt assured of the future of his ward, the chief Umi, and that Hawaii indeed would be theirs without bruising the skin in battle.

The old men lived on with Kaoleioku for forty-five days, when they decided to return to the bottom of the Waipio Valley. As they were about ready to make their return, they said to Kaoleioku and Umi: “We are going home this day and will spend the night along the road. We will be five days on the way and on the sixth day we will arrive at Waipio. You must, therefore, remain until the nights of Ole and Kaloa, when you must come down, because there are three Oles and three Kaloas, [157] giving you six days on the way. On the day of Kane you must remain on the cliff overlooking Waipio until the next day, the day of Lono, the day when the sacred ceremonies of placing new feathers on the gods are observed; that will be the day when Hakau shall be killed.” These arrangements were then accepted by them all as being final.

The old men then began their homeward journey, and on the sixth day they arrived at Waipio and proceeded to make a call on Hakau. When Hakau saw them, he said: “The Hilo travelers have returned.” The old men replied: “Yes,” and they then paid their respects to the king, greeting him. After a while Hakau asked the old men: “Have you two seen Umi?” They replied: “Yes, we have seen him.” Hakau again asked: “How is he getting along?” “He is still living with his guardian, Kaoleioku.” The old men then continued: “That is the reason of our return; a kapu for your god must be declared and feathers procured.” [158] Hakau then said: “Why so? Isn’t such a thing done only when war is expected? I see no prospects of a coming conflict, so why declare a kapu for the god?” The old men replied: “We have seen your younger brother’s men; they are too many for your comfort. He is likely to come some day and fight you while our eyes are weak; therefore, this is the proper time, while his men are yet few.”

By these remarks from the old men, the king was greatly pleased. Their straightforward replies to his questions dispelled all doubts in his mind, for he believed they were telling the truth. However, they were not.

On the day of Ole [159] that was followed by Kaloa, Kaoleioku and Umi and all their men took up their journey; no one was allowed to remain behind. After six days had been consumed on the way they at last arrived at Kemamo, a place directly above Waipio. That day being the day of Kane, the day agreed by them as the day to be declared as kapued for the god of Hakau. Upon their arrival at this place they proceeded to gather stones to carry with them down to Waipio. The stones were bundled up into ti-leaf [wrappers], and made to resemble bundles of potatoes. The people were then all put to do this work; no one was allowed to be idle. When the bundles were all ready the downward journey was resumed. Those allowed to go without any bundle of stones in their hands were the chief Umi, the priest Kaoleioku, Umi’s adopted son Koi, Piimaiwaa, and Umi’s uncle Omaokamau. When they came to the edge of the cliff they spent the night there. On the next day, the day of Lono, was the day when the feather god of Hakau was to be readorned with new feathers.

On this morning of Lono, Hakau said to the old men: “This is the first time that a kapu has ever been declared for my god when I, the king, remain at home, while all the men go to the mountain.” The old men replied: “Yes, for you to accompany the people would have been the proper thing to do if your younger brother was making the first advances; but you see in this case you are the one who will make the first attack. Even if mistakes are made by your men, that will not matter; your men are so numerous that you will surely win; there is no mistake in that.” When the king heard this he was much pleased. So the four of them remained at home; the king Hakau, Nunu, Kakohe and the chief steward.

While the four were at home that morning and as the sun began to get warm, about seven o’clock, Umi and his followers came down the eastern side of the Waipio Valley. When the first of the procession reached the bottom of the valley and were near the river, the last of the people were still out of sight on the top of the cliff.

When Hakau saw the shadows of the people on the side of the cliff, he said to the old men: “I thought that this was a day to be kapued for the god, yet I see the people going about.” The old men replied: “They must be your own men from Hamakua bringing you some food.” When the procession was almost up to the presence of Hakau, he saw that five of the men were without any objects in their hands; these men were Umi, Kaoleioku, Koi, Piimaiwaa and Omaokamau. Hakau then again remarked to the old men of this discovery, saying: “I see five of the people in the procession without any burden.” The old men replied: “They must be your husbandmen.” As Hakau beheld Omaokamau indistinctly he said: “I wonder where I first saw that man in the front of the procession?” The old men replied: “He must be one of your landlords, for you are a king who has often gone around Hamakua, so you must have seen him in your travels.” Hakau then assented to this, saying: “Yes, that must be it.”

While Hakau was conversing with the old men, the front of the procession came up to him, and the last of the file of people was yet on the cliff. The procession then surrounded Hakau who was seated, and continued coming until Hakau was surrounded by men about twelve deep. The men, however, kept on their feet and still held their bundles of stones in their hands. He saw that the bundles were all wrapped in ti-leaf as if they were bundles of taro or potatoes. After a while he was undeceived, for Umi came out of the ranks and stood in his presence. When Hakau saw Umi he raised up his head and then bowed down again. [160] Umi then called out to Omaokamau, who came and stood directly behind Umi. Umi then gave him the order to go and slay Hakau. At the words of command, Omaokamau went up to Hakau, took hold of his lower jaw, then turned his face up and said: “You are killed by Omaokamau, for Umi.” When the people heard this remark by Omaokamau, they began to throw their stones on Hakau, killing him. The stones caused a great heap above Hakau, while the sticks which had been used as packers for the burdens carried on the shoulders, formed the cone-shaped tomb of Hakau.

Upon the death of Hakau Umi became possessed of the whole island of Hawaii, and the prediction of Kaoleioku which was made while they were still in obscurity thus came true. Kaoleioku on the other hand was made the chief priest of Umi, his chief, while the priests of Hakau all served under Kaoleioku, Nunu, Kakohe and Umi the king.

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